Final Fantasy Zz (Zzonkmiles' Hard-Type
Rebalancing Hack, Part 6)

Most current version: 4.16 (released for testing on November 15, 2010)

What this hack is:

Final Fantasy Zz is a much more difficult version of Final Fantasy with a few enhancements designed to make the game more enjoyable and much more challenging. It is designed primarily for experienced players who are looking for a new challenge. This hack was started in November 2007. There is no official release date, but as of this writing, the hack is about 99% complete. The final changes involve adding a title screen, rewriting the credits scene, and making a few final changes to enemy formations. (Of course, this hack has been at 95%+ completion for months now, so it may never ever be truly "perfect." But I'll keep trying until I find nothing left to improve!)

What this hack is not:

The emphasis of FFZz is on challenge. As of 4.16, very little has been changed in terms of aesthetic enhancements, although there have been a few relatively small changes in the script. The enhancements in this hack concern fixing bugs, adding a few conveniences, rebalancing the characters, and creating new equipment. These are discussed below. (Note that I did not create these bug fixes. Thank AnomieX, Silktail, and AstralEsper for that!)

Previous FFZz threads:

To see the evolution of this hack and to see which ideas have been tried, which ideas didn't work out so well, and which ideas simply can't work at all because of coding restrictions, please consult these earlier threads:

FFRebalanced is a very well done hack by Astral Esper. It has no relation to FFZz. There are two main differences between the two hacks. FFR has more aesthetic enhancements and is much truer to the original game. Therefore, FFR is a highly refined version of the original Final Fantasy. FFZz has fewer enhancements, but is much more difficult and has new equipment and enemies. FFZz also has a few fairly minor changes to the story in terms of plot items. For the most recent information about FFR, consult this thread:

1. This game is much more difficult than the original. This doesn't mean that Gas Dragons are in the Marsh Cave, but there should be a lot more heart-stopping moments as you progress.

2. The characters have been rebalanced.

2a. The Fighter's HP growth has been slowed somewhat.2b. The Thief is a much better fighter and has more equipment available to him. His hit % growth rate has been increased.2c. The BB has been nerfed in terms of his crit rate and hit multiplier, but his HP growth rate has been increased.2d. Knights and Ninjas can now cast 6 spells instead of 4.2e. All mages now have more spell charges. A L50 White Wizard, for example, would have 12 charges of L1 magic, but still only 9 charges of L8 magic.2f. The BM can now use WARP before the class change.2g. The RM can no longer use FAST, and his access to other magic spells has been restricted.2h. The RW can learn two Level 8 magic spells.

3. There are some new magic spells, weapons, and pieces of armor.

4. All three mages now have three distinct roles because their access to magic and available equipment has been changed. The Red Mage is now a less credible substitute for a White Mage or Black Mage.

5. The towns are generally easier to navigate.

6. Two plot items now serve different purposes.

7. Many of the text boxes have changed.

8. The following patches/bug fixes/enhancements have been applied (thanks to anomieX, Astral Esper, Paulygon, and silktail!):

a. You can run by holding the B buttonb. Poison drains 1/15 of your max HP per roundc. Regenerative enemies recover 1/15 of their max HP per roundd. The ship game can be accessed by pressing A+B 5 timese. Magic defense now appears on the status screenf. The default response rate is 8g. The RNG has been improved, thus making dungeon crawling less predictableh. You can buy 10 supplies at a time in an item shopi. EXIT can be used to run from battlej. Cabins restore 120HP and Houses restore 240HPk. Houses restore magic before asking if you want to savel. The BB armor bug has been fixedm. Broken spells (TMPR, SABR, HEL2, etc.) now function correctlyn. You cannot land the airship on the caravan anymoreo. A character's INT stat now affects the potency of your magic spellsp. The threshold for sleeping enemies is 200HPq. Enemies that cast target-all defensive spells also cast it on themselvesr. Invisible characters and characters in unreachable places have been fixeds. The Fire and Wind altars have been fixedt. The door bug has been fixedu. The multiple level-up bug has been fixedv. You can see the contents of a treasure chest without having to drop an itemw. Enemies that are confused will attack each other for nonelemental damage.

9. There have been a few changes to the layout of the overworld and some dungeons.

10. The Fiends' dungeons all have a hidden warp portal that lets you escape, but not without a fight.

11. There are no duplicate treasure chests.

12. Enemies are much stronger. Some of their AI has been changed, and some enemies who didn't have AI before have it now. They also appear in new and more difficult formations.

13. Heal Potions restore 40HP outside of battle.

14. There are no elemental weapons, such as the Ice Sword and Rune Sword.

15. The following enemies no longer exist: Scum, MadPony, Fighter

16. Grinding is easier, especially during the Pravoka-Elfland part of the game. You probably won't have a need to use the PNEOP. (Actually, you're probably better off staying away from that place now.)

1. Increase character names to six letters and increase the length for enemy names and items.2. Create new spiked squares that can take advantage of the Formation 2 battles.3 Create a new title screen.4. Rewrite or enhance the script.5. Add more names to the credits list during the bridge sequence to acknowledge various testers.

(Note that these changes will require a bit of time because they can't be implemented in FF Hackster. Unfortunately, I don't have much time because of real life, but these are changes I definitely want to make.)

This hack sounds cool. Can I play it?

The first thing to understand is that this hack is still in the beta-testing stage. Therefore, there are or may be bugs that make the game easier or more difficult than it should be. While I think all critical bugs have been removed, there may still be a few quirks and minor coding errors regarding battle assignments (like Warmech being a 12/64 encounter in the Mirage Tower and Gargoyles appearing in the TOFR). In fact, as recently as version 4.1, I found a TOFR battle inside the Sea Shrine.

This hack has not been uploaded to a server for general download. However, if you are interested in testing this hack, send an e-mail to my username AT gmail DOT com or post your e-mail address here. I will happily e-mail you the hack on the condition that you provide your feedback here. The only way I'll know if Kraken2 is too difficult or if the spiked square blocking a certain treasure chest should be moved is if testers let me know. If you ask to test the hack, but then disappear after I send it to you, I will remove your name from the testing list and you will not receive any further updates.

This hack would not be possible without the hard work and thoughtful feedback of the patch developers and good testers. Several of you have been given credit in the hack! For new testers, I simply e-mail a ROM and a readme file. You do not need to patch or unzip anything. Because different emulators yield different results, it is possible that you could lose your progress if you turn off the game after saving at an inn. In this case, you will need to use savestates. I recommend that you do a test save in Coneria when testing this out for the first time so that you don't lose all your hard work!

Fighter: He is still a tank, but not as dominant. This is largely due to the fact that his HP growth and weapon strength have been slightly reduced. Also, his armor is a bit heavier, thus decreasing his evasion.

Thief: He is a much better fighter now. He also has some specialty weapons and armor available. Because the luck/running bug has been fixed, he becomes quite valuable when you need to escape.

Black Belt: Despite his high number of hits, he has been nerfed considerably. He will need to fight with a Wooden Staff at first before graduating to the various nunchucks. About 2/3 of the way through the game, you may wish to have him fight barehanded. With his high number of hits, this character will ultimately become the highest damage dealer. Giving him TMPR will turn him into a killer.

Red Mage: His access to lower level magic has been considerably reduced. There are several spells that he could use in the original game that he cannot use in this hack until after the class change. He can do a little bit of everything, but the fact that he excels at nothing will become more apparent as your party gets stronger.

White Mage: Improved magic makes him more valuable, especially when it comes to fighting undeads or dealing with status ailments. He still can't fight, however.

Black Mage: Improved magic makes him more versatile. Because several spells are exclusive to him, you can no longer substitute a Red Mage for a Black Mage without totally changing the gaming experience.

Knight: He can learn a few more spells, including HEAL. He can also now use six spells per level instead of four.

Ninja: Like the new Thief, the Ninja is a much better fighter. He has some specialty armor available as well and can use a wide variety of black magic spells. Like the Knight, the Ninja gets up to six spell charges per magic level. The Thief/Ninja is the most improved character overall in this hack.

Master: He is a stronger version of the Black Belt with stronger magic defense growth. Because of his high hit number of hits, TMPR is his friend. Without TMPR, he will not dominate enemies until late in the game or at very high levels.

Red Wizard: The biggest change is that he can use a little more upper level magic, including two L8 spells. He also has a specialty sword available to him, but it is not as strong as the other specialty swords. Because of his lower intelligence ratings (compared to the other two wizards), his magic is not as reliable. While he remains the most versatile character, you will find his lack of mastery of anything to be his greatest weakness.

White Wizard: Improved magic makes him more versatile and probably a must-have member of any team in the later dungeons.

Black Wizard: Improved magic and a high intelligence rating make him the strongest damage dealer of all characters. He also has a better ability to fight and protect himself.

The towns have been slightly redesigned to make them easier to navigate. This should lead to fewer instances of townspeople blocking your path. A few of the weapon/armor shops have changed as well. Here are a few changes:

1. Melmond now has an item shop and a new magic shop.2. Onrac has a weapon and armor shop.3. Lefein has an item shop and a new magic shop. It also has a clinic.4. Gaia has a magic shop that sells L7 and L8 magic in the same place. 5. The TOFR has two clinics and one item shop. It also has two warp portals: one at the beginning, and one close to the end.

Dungeons:

Many of the treasure chests in the dungeons have been changed. There have been some significant changes to their layouts as well. Some changes include new hallways. Others include traps. A lot of treasure chests are also guarded by new spiked squares, so be careful when being greedy!

Enemy changes:

Enemies are considerably tougher in this game. There are too many changes to list regarding alterations in HP, XP, Gold, number of hits, hit %, critical hit %, evade, magic defense, resistances, weaknesses, morale, and absorb. However, I can tell you that there are a lot of new enemy formations and enemies often appear in larger groups. Some of the enemy groups that you could run from in Final Fantasy are unrunnable in FFZz.

The following enemies have been renamed (old names are listed in parentheses):

AIR, CRAWL, HELLBAT, ASP, COBRA, SCORPION, IGUANA, and SAURIA are weak against ice.HYDRA, NAOCHO, and RED CARIBE are weak against lightning.WATER is weak against ice and lightning.HELLBAT now resists lightning.

Bosses and fiends:

Garland now has AI, but the Pirates still don't. All other mini-bosses and fiends have had their AI altered. To preserve the element of surprise, I will not mention how much HP the fiends have or what their new damage ratings are. All of these enemies have significantly higher HP than in the original game.

There are several new spells. Other spells have been enhanced either by increasing their accuracy, increasing their strength, or consolidating them with other spells. Some spells may be changed or removed in future versions.

Magic format: SPELL NAME, effect, target, potency, who can learn it

Special notes:

1. You cannot cast any spells at all (including ESNA) if you are MUTEd by an enemy.2. Spells become more powerful as your level gets higher because of INT.3. FIRE, LIT, and ICE are now target-all spells.

NOTE: When an enemy uses MUTE on you, you can drink a potion, but you cannot use a spell-casting item. The only way to cure mute status is to have another ally use the ESNA spell or drink a Pure Potion.

NOTE: SLEP combines the original Final Fantasy's SLEP and DARK spells.

HLY2 Nonelemental attack. All enemies. Base effect of 40. RW, WM, WWEXIT Escape from battle. Does not let you escape "unnrunnable encounters." When used outside of battle, it transports your party out of the dungeon. RW, WWVOID Removes resistance to everything. All enemies. This is time-element spell. WWHEL3 Recovers HP. All allies. Base effect of 36. WM, WW

NOTE: VOID is a target-all version of XFER.

L6 black magic

BOLT3 Lightning damage. All enemies. Base effect of 60. RW, BM, BWFLAR Fire damage. One enemy. Base effect of 100. RW, BWBANE Kills target. All enemies. This is a poison element spell. BM, BWSTUN Inflicts stun, dark, mute, and poison status on target. All enemies. This spell is guaranteed to work on any enemy that has 300HP or less at the time the spell is cast. This is a nonelemental spell. BW

NOTE: BOLT3 is really a 3-letter word starting with L and ending with 3. (For some reason, it is censored.)

ICE3 Ice damage. All enemies. Base effect of 70. RW, BM, BWBOOM Nonelemental attack. All enemies. Base effect of 50. BWSABR Increases attack power by 40 and hit % by 32. Stackable. Spell caster only. BWXXXX Kills target. All enemies. This spell is guaranteed to work on any enemy that has 300HP or less at the time the spell is cast. It will not work on any enemy that resists the death element. BW

1. A future version of this hack may have a bonus dungeon. But since the TOFR is hard enough as is, there are not too many enemy formations that could make the cut for such a place, although there are a few easter eggs that many testers have already found.

2. CONF has been tweaked so that a confused enemy hits another enemy for nonelemental damage. Earlier, the attack that was used was FIRE, which would explain why this spell didn't do much against water enemies.

Anyway,

4 Thieves

This team has been plastered by Astos more than 30 times, so I had to raise my levels. They were finally able to bring him down at L13, and only two of my characters survived. It really came down to Astos opting for physical attacks instead of his spells, although I had to endure everything until right before the most devastating one for magicless parties: SLOW. I was one round away from doom in that regard. In my two previous attempts at L13, I was able to take more than 500 DMG and more than 600DMG even once. So I knew with higher levels it was only a matter of time. So I think I'll leave Astos unchanged. But wow, that's a nasty little elf.